


The Strangest Things Happen in the Middle of Nowhere

by this_is_how_we_get_ants



Series: Strange Things [1]
Category: Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Dimension Travel, Divergent Timelines, Gen, Injured Loki, Loki Screwed Up, Mild Language, Possibly Pre-Slash, Referenced Battle of New York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 07:56:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4471394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/this_is_how_we_get_ants/pseuds/this_is_how_we_get_ants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas were just driving to meet up with Sam.  And then two men fell out of the sky...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Strangest Things Happen in the Middle of Nowhere

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know where this came from, it just kind of happened. So here it is...

It had started out as a perfectly fine night. AC/DC blasting as loud as he wanted, no demons in sight, and no life-threatening injuries to worry about. Just Dean and Cas riding in the Impala to go meet Sammy at the hotel in some little Iowa town. But of course that couldn’t last.

A blinding flash of emerald light split the sky a few yards ahead of them on the deserted road. Dean slammed on the brakes, shielding his eyes from the brightness. The Impala’s tires squealed angrily.

“What the hell!” Dean yelled.

He tried to see through his fingers what was happening, but all he could make out was green. Spots danced in front of his eyes when he blinked.

When the light faded and the spots cleared, Dean squinted to see a huddled mass illuminated in his headlights.

“Jesus Christ! What was that?”

Cas sat impassively in the passenger seat, “I believe two men just appeared in the road.”

Dean shot Cas an incredulous look, but his sarcasm was lost on the angel, as usual.

“Perhaps we should help them,” Cas reached for his door handle.

Dean grabbed at Cas’s hand before he could open the door, “Not so fast, there Cas. Humans don’t usually make a habit of falling from the sky in a blinding flash of light.”

Cas just blinked at him, “Fine, fine!” Dean relented.

Sighing, Dean shifted the Impala into gear and inched forward.

* * *

 

Steve rubbed his head and groaned, “What happened?”

He was pretty sure he had just been in New York City, in the middle of the day. However, currently he found himself on his backside in the middle of a country road in the dead of night. The man next to him didn’t respond and Steve squinted to see who exactly was with him.

“What are you looking at?” Loki spat.

Steve reared away as if he had been burned. Loki? What had happened? His head felt fuzzy around the edges, like he’d just been ripped out of a deep sleep. Nothing about the scene around him made any sense.

“Fantastic,” Loki muttered standing up and brushing himself off.

His helmet glinted in the light. Steve paused; his eyes shot up in front of them towards the two headlights currently inching towards them. He shot up and jumped to the side, hopefully out of the vehicle’s path. Of course, Loki just stood arrogantly in the middle of the lane as though he owned the highway.

“Get out of the way!” Steve hissed.

Loki barely spared a glance in Steve’s direction, sniffing in disdain. He didn’t move a muscle.

Steve clenched his teeth, but didn’t make a move. The car was coming to a stop now, a couple of feet away from their position. He waited as the car doors opened and two men emerged. One wore a leather jacket and jeans, while the other had dark hair and wore a trench coat and tie. They seemed, in Steve’s opinion, to be a rather mismatched pair.

“Hey there!” the man in the leather jacket called out.

Steve stepped out of the shadows to get a closer look at the men, “Hello,” he replied.

The man in the leather jacket ignored Steve’s response, “What are you two guys doing out here? In the middle of the road? At one AM?”

Silence descended on the odd little group. Loki glared haughtily at no one in particular. The man in the trench coat’s eyes volleyed between Steve and Loki in curiosity. Leather jacket guy crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled loudly.

Finally Steve attempted to break up the awkward silence, “Um, it’s kind of a long story.”

“Oh, I bet it is,” the man muttered darkly.

Suddenly the man in the leather jacket lunged at them, and Steve found himself with a face full of water.  He spluttered, wiping the water from his eyes.  Before he could fully recover, though, he felt a stinging sensation on his hand.

" _What_ do you think you are doing?" Loki cried indignantly, "Do you know who I am?"

Steve found himself still shocked silent, but when he looked at Loki, indignant and dripping water from his face he couldn't help laughing.  Loki turned a fierce glare in Steve's direction. If Steve didn't know better, he would have thought that Loki almost cracked a smile at his appearance.

"So, would you care to explain what that was all about?" Steve asked the two strange men.

"Sorry.  Just had to make sure you weren't demons," Leather Jacket shrugged.

Next to Steve, Loki scoffed.

Steve looked between himself and the god in the road and sighed. They probably were quite the sight with Loki in his Asgardian battle gear and Steve in his Captain America costume. The man in the trench coat took a step forward and scrutinized Steve in a way that made him feel twitchy. “My name is Castiel, and this is Dean.”

“Let me guess,” the man called Dean looked at Steve, “You’re Captain America.”

Steve blinked, “Um, yeah. That’s right.”

Dean glared at his companion before turning to Loki, “Care to share with the class, or should I refer to you as Horn Head?”

“I am Loki, God of mischief,” Loki sniffed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Dean ran a hand over his face.

“I beg your pardon, mortal?” Loki said indignantly.

“Oh, Jesus, it gets better,” Dean mumbled under his breath, “Where’s Sammy when you need him?”

Steve looked between the three other men, trying to gauge the situation. He knew Loki wasn’t above violence, but he couldn’t get a good read on the other two. The man called Dean had an air of danger about him, but the man named Castiel seemed peaceful enough.

“Maybe you could just tell us where we are?” Steve interjected hopefully.

“Iowa,” was Dean’s short reply.

“What is this Iowa he speaks of?” Loki demanded of Steve.

“It’s a place on Earth. A place that is about seventeen hours from New York,” Steve replied flatly.

“So, you’re from New York?” Dean cast another appraising look over the two men.

Steve paused, looking at Loki, “You could say that.”

Dean looked unconvinced, but he turned to his companion, “Tell me this Loki isn’t another archangel in disguise?” to Steve’s utter disbelief Dean pointed towards Loki.

“Are you kidding? Loki, an angel?” Steve could barely contain the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble out of him.

“ _This_ Loki? What are you talking about, mortal? I am the _only_ Loki!” Loki snapped.

“This man is no angel, Dean,” the man called Castiel turned to his partner.

Steve barked out a harsh laugh, not even attempting to cover it up.

Loki shot him a poisonous look before turning to the two men in front of them.

“Listen, I don’t know what the hell you two are up to,” Dean cast a dubious look over the strange outfits the men in front of him wore, “But normal people don’t just pop out of a flash of light in the middle of a dark road at night.”

Loki scoffed, “I told you I am not a pathetic human. I am a god!”

“Yeah, whatever you say, dude. I mean I’ve never met the big guy, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t wear a cape,” Dean replied.

Again Steve chuckled.

Dean turned to him, “Hey man, I don’t know what you’re laughing about. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much spandex on one person.”

Castiel stood regarding Steve curiously. Honestly, Steve felt uncomfortable with how close the strange trench coat clad man was standing to him. He unexpectedly reached out and placed a finger on the super soldier’s forehead.

“What-” Steve batted his hand away.

Unfazed, Castiel turned to Dean, “This man is telling the truth. They are from another timeline, a different dimension.”

“Of course they are,” Dean muttered.

“Another timeline? Another _dimension_!” Steve couldn’t keep the note of hysteria out of his voice, “What did you do?” he turned panicked eyes to Loki.

Loki scoffed, “Obviously it was not my intention to transport us out of your timeline, Captain. Unfortunately you chose to throw your ridiculous shield at my head at a most inopportune moment. Really, this is your fault.”

Steve just gaped at Loki, “Well take us back!” he finally yelled.

Loki turned to him, and for the first time Steve noticed the sheen of sweat covering the god’s flesh. Loki spoke slowly, “I would do so, but I seem to have expended a greater amount of energy than I intended to in bringing us here,” he paused for a ragged breath, “I am afraid I will not be taking us anywhere for some time.”

The four men stood in wary silence. Castiel was regarding Loki and Steve with intense fascination that was starting to make Steve uncomfortable

Finally Dean threw his hands in the air, “Well we can’t leave them here. God knows what would happen if some poor slob civilian stumbled across them. Besides we were supposed to be meeting Sammy at the hotel about now.”

“I can go ahead if you would like me to inform your brother of the situation,” Cas offered.

“I don’t think so, buddy. I’m not gonna be left alone with these two looney tunes!”

Cas shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him either way.

“You,” Dean pointed at Loki, “I don’t like you. Cas, take his spear thingy would ya?”

“I think not, mortal!” Loki exclaimed weakly clutching the spear protectively to his chest.

Steve sighed, “Good luck with that one,” he said stepping away from Loki.

To Steve’s surprise it didn’t take much for Castiel to remove the spear from Loki’s trembling grip. Unfortunately, it seemed that the spear had been holding Loki up and he proceeded to crumple awkwardly to the asphalt.

Steve waited for Castiel to do something, but the odd man was seemingly transfixed by the spear that he now held. A deep sigh escaped Steve as he moved towards Loki’s prone form.

He looped his arms under Loki’s and dragged the god to his feet. Loki was surprisingly heavy, and he didn’t seem at all inclined to help Steve carry the burden of his considerable weight. Instead he just slumped limply in Steve’s straining arms, his feet dragging on the road. Although he was unconscious, So Steve supposed it wasn't fair to blame him.

“A little help?” Steve grunted at the two other men. Castiel looked up from the spear and noticed Steve’s struggle. But Dean shooed him away and he and Steve rearranged Loki between themselves so that they each supported one side of him.

“Shit! Does this guy eat bricks for breakfast?” Dean grumbled.

“You should see his brother,” Steve muttered.

Dean shot him a strange look, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he remained silent as they finally reached the black car and situated Loki in the back seat after some intense finagling.

“You sit by this one, Cas,” Dean said gesturing at Loki.

Castiel obediently crawled into the backseat next to a passed out Loki.

“Should we take him to a hospital?” Castiel asked.

“Definitely not!” Steve said quickly.

Dean and Castiel gave him matching suspicious looks. Steve shrugged, “He’s not exactly your average patient. Besides, I don’t want him out of my sight. Make sure you keep that spear away from him.”

Dean grabbed the spear out of Castiel’s hands, slamming the door. He made his way around to the trunk of the car. Steve watched as Dean popped the trunk. Then he watched with increasingly wider eyes as Dean opened up the trunk’s false bottom and set the spear amongst a veritable cache of weapons.

Steve stared at Dean, his expression part concern, part panic, and part question.

“Tools of the trade,” was all Dean said in reply.

“And _what_ exactly _is_ your trade?” Steve asked as they made their way around to the front of the vehicle.

Dean didn’t answer, simply swung himself down into the driver’s seat. After a brief moment of hesitation, Steve got into the shotgun seat.

“Buckle up, kids!” Dean called over the roar of the engine.

* * *

 

“Um. What the hell, dude. Who are these guys?”

This was the greeting that the mismatched quartet received when they arrived at the motel a short while later. It came from an extremely large man with longish hair who was looking at them with extreme skepticism.

“Sammy, meet Captain America and Loki,” Dean huffed.

He and Castiel lugged a still unconscious Loki into the room. They proceeded to dump him in a heap on one of the beds. Dean began messing with Loki’s horned helmet, finally pulling it off of his sweat-dampened black hair.

“Okaaaayyyyyy,” Sam said.

Dean pushed past him into the bathroom. Steve stood awkwardly next to the door. Sam turned his attention towards Steve and stared incredulously at him.

“Um, hello,” Steve said nervously.

“Hi,” the man replied slowly, “Do you always wear a mask? Cuz it’s kind of a bit much.”

“Not to mention creepy. If your getup wasn’t so damn patriotic I’d be afraid to let you near a children’s playground,” Dean breezed past them, rubbing a towel over his face.

“Yeah, dude, it really is kinda creepy,” Sam turned back to Steve.

Steve’s face felt hot under his mask and he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck unsure what to say.

“I believe they would like you to remove your mask,” Castiel offered from his perch on the edge of Loki’s bed.

“Oh- I um,” Steve hesitated.

“Dude, you aren’t going to ruin your secret superhero identity, if that’s what you’re so worried about,” Dean said.

“You can trust them,” Castiel added.

Steve stood frozen in place. His mind worked overtime, trying to decide what to do. In all his many years he had never found himself in a situation anything like this one. Finally he decided that he was going to have to trust these strangers. Slowly he reached up and pulled the mask up over his head.

“See that wasn’t so hard,” Dean said.

Steve said nothing, staring at the questionable green carpet. He didn’t know why he felt so embarrassed and exposed. “So, do you have a name other than Captain America?” Sam stood against the bathroom door frame with his arms crossed.

“Steve Rogers.”

“Alright, so Steve, can you tell us what happened?” Sam prodded.

Steve’s eyes skittered nervously around the small room. Sam’s large presence was intimidating, but Steve was confident he could take him if it came to that. Dean was now lying on the other bed with his legs hanging off the edge. Castiel sat at the foot of Loki’s bed regarding Steve with his disconcerting stare.

“Uh, well, it’s kind of a long story,” Steve hedged.

Dean let out a gusty sight, “You already tried that one, bud. Believe me, whatever you have to say probably won’t surprise us.”

Steve let out a laugh that came out as a puff of air. He hesitated for a moment before deciding he might as well tell these men what he could remember.

Spotting a tiny table with two cheap chairs in the corner, Steve made his way over and sat down. “Well, it started a few days ago…”

* * *

 

 

Dean had sat up on the bed at some point during Steve’s story. Sam had moved over to sit next to Dean. All three men were staring at Steve. Sam and Dean sported matching incredulous expressions.

Finally Dean cleared his throat, “So let me get this straight. You’re part of _the Avengers_ , which are real. Your pal Loki is a _god_ from a different _planet_. And he brought an _alien army_ to attack New York City?”

Steve nodded in confirmation. Dean scratched his head, “Well I’ll be damned. I’ve seen and heard some weird shit in my day, but this might honestly take the cake.”

“He’s a Norse god? And his brother is _Thor_? As in hammer, Thor?” Sam leaned forward.

“Yes,” Steve replied.

Dean turned towards the other conscious man in the room, “Cas?”

Castiel blinked slowly and turned towards the others in silence.

“Great. Thanks for your angelic wisdom,” Dean muttered, “Fricking Twilight Zone.”

Steve squinted in confusion and Cas had an equally blank expression on his face. Sam looked between them and burst out laughing. Dean just shook his head.

“What is the Twilight Zone?” Castiel inquired.

“Just… Nevermind,” Dean waved a hand dismissively.

“So, Captain America, what’s your superpower?” Dean asked.

“I was injected with a super soldier serum during the war. It gave me increased strength, speed, and healing factor,” Steve decided to answer honestly.

“What war? The Middle East?” Sam questioned.

“World War II,” Steve said shaking his head.

“World War II? How old are you, dude?” Dean exclaimed.

“Well, technically ninety-seven,” Steve admitted.

“Technically?” Sam prompted.

“It’s complicated. I spent a few decades on ice,” Steve responded with a sigh.

Dean blinked at him, “I’m just gonna leave that one alone. So, what are we going to do now? You said that they were from an alternate timeline and dimension, Cas? How do we get them back there?”

Castiel seemed to be contemplating this issue himself, “I do not know,” he finally stated.

“Perfect. The angel doesn’t know how to fix this, Sammy. You got any ideas?” Dean turned to the man next to him.

Sam shrugged, “Bobby’s?”

Dean seemed to consider this before nodding slowly in agreement.

Steve cleared his throat, “What do you mean ‘the angel’?”

Dean pointed to Castiel, “He’s an angel. Of the Lord. You know, from Heaven?”

Steve raised an eyebrow at this explanation.

“So you want us to believe a story about Norse gods, superheroes, and alien invasions, but you don’t believe in angels?” Dean snickered.

He had a fair point, Steve supposed. However, he felt slightly awestruck by the idea; which was probably stupid considering he knew two Asgardian gods and a Hulk. His eyes drifted back to the other two men. Were they some kind of fantastical beings, too?

As if reading his mind Sam let out a dry chuckle, “We’re humans.”

“Mostly,” Dean added under his breath.

Sam glared at his comment.

Steve sat quietly, considering for a few moments, “I told you my story. What’s yours? You never did tell me what your _trade_ is that you need all those weapons in your trunk for.”

“Right. Well, Sammy and I, we hunt demons.”

Steve cocked his head, an expression of disbelief undoubtedly marking his features. Sam and Dean looked at each other and started laughing. Even Castiel chuckled from his spot. Finally, shrugging Steve just decided to accept their story. At least it explained Dean's strange actions earlier on the road.

“We’re brothers. Sam and Dean Winchester, at your service. We hunt demons and monsters, things that go bump in the night. And this is our friend and angel of the Lord, Castiel,” Sam grinned.

Steve honestly could not think of anything to say in response to this.

“Oh for Odin’s sake, Steve. You didn’t honestly think that there was no such things as monsters, did you?”

Loki’s croaky voice caused all four of the other men to jump. They turned to look at the previously unconscious god. He still looked extra pale and was the most unkempt that Steve had ever seen him.

“How long have you been awake?” Steve finally managed.

Loki carelessly shrugged a shoulder, “Long enough,” he turned towards Sam, “I am Loki of Asgard, pleasure to meet you Samuel Winchester.”

* * *

 

Sleep had been limited considering that they had been awake until after four. Then there was the issue of only having two double beds. Sam and Dean were forced to bunk up, and Loki got his own bed since he was unwell. That left Steve and Castiel. Apparently angels didn’t sleep, so Castiel just blinked out of existence. Steve was too tired to be shocked, so he just drifted off where he sat in the plastic motel chair.

He had been awakened by the enticing scent of food. Blearily, he blinked awake. His head was rested on his arms on top of the table top. He grimaced as he straightened up and felt the kink in his neck and wiped the drool from his cheek.

Loki was sitting up in the other bed staring at Steve with his unnerving green eyes. He had a Styrofoam container of some food in his lap and a steaming cup of coffee on the nightstand next to him.

Slowly, Steve became aware of the sound of the shower running in the next room and the imposing presence of Sam in the chair opposite his. Sam also had coffee and his own take-out container of breakfast food. Steve’s stomach growled, and Sam chuckled reaching for a plastic sack and digging out another container that he handed to Steve. He then pushed a cup of hot coffee in Steve’s direction.

Gratefully, Steve took a long sip of the steaming liquid and enjoyed the heat against his throat. He must have made a noise of appreciation because next to him Sam chuckled again. Steve flushed as he met Sam’s laughing eyes.

“Glad to see some things are universal, no matter what dimension you’re from,” he smiled.

Steve offered a small smile of his own that disappeared as he caught Loki rolling his eyes behind Sam’s head.

The bathroom door let out a sad creak as Dean emerged from his shower. A trail of fog followed him out the door. His bare feet left damp spots in the carpet and his hair still glistened with water. He made a beeline for the plastic sack on the table and grabbed the last remaining coffee cup beside it.

“Sleep well, Soldier?” Dean smirked as he flopped down on the bed with his food.

“Fine, thanks,” Steve stared at his eggs as if they held the answers to life’s meaning.

“He is feeling bashful today,” Loki snickered from his bed.

Steve’s head shot up and he glared at Loki’s smug expression. It probably would have been more effective if he hadn’t still been slightly pink from blushing. As it was, Loki simply snickered briefly before turning his attention back to his food.

They ate in silence. Finally Steve finished his eggs, bacon, and buttermilk biscuits. He quickly drained the remainder of the surprisingly tasty coffee before rising from his seat.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower, if that’s OK?”

Steve’s voice was more uncertain than he would have liked. In spite of himself his eyes darted to Loki who smirked at him, his green eyes shining mischievously. He could feel his cheeks once again heating. Mentally, he scolded himself for letting the pompous Asgardian get to him.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Sammy probably has some clothes that you could borrow,” Dean spoke around his mouthful of pancake.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother before rising and heading to a duffle bag Steve hadn’t previously noticed. He dug around in it before pulling out a plaid shirt and a pair of worn jeans that he handed to Steve.

“Give him some socks, too,” Dean shot his brother a shit-eating grin.

Sam rolled his eyes again, reaching into his bag and pulling out a pair of socks that he tossed to Steve.

“You need underwear, too?” Dean questioned.

Steve blushed, for the millionth time that day, and shook his head. Loki and Dean snickered like a couple of middle school kids. Sam just shook his head good-naturedly and gestured Steve towards the bathroom.

* * *

 

 After a brief, scalding shower, Steve stepped out of the enclosure and reached for a towel. His hand closed around the terry material and he quickly proceeded to dry himself off. Just as he was yanking up the borrowed jeans, there was a strange rush of air.

He turned around in confusion and was met by an earnest looking man in a trench coat.

“Aaahhh! What the-!” 

Steve automatically lashed out with his fist, sending the man sprawling backwards.  He tangled with the shower curtain and fell into the tub.

The bathroom door whipped open and Sam and Dean stood with guns drawn. They slowly lowered the guns as they took in the scene in front of them. Steve stood like a deer-in-headlights in only jeans. Castiel, meanwhile, lay in a heap in the motel tub.

A bark of laughter sounded from Sam. Soon he and Dean were leaning on each other laughing. It was a slightly disturbing sight, the two of them laughing hysterically with guns dangling from their hands.

“I am sorry, Steven. It seems I slightly misjudged my destination,” Castiel said solemnly.

“Didn’t peg you as a peeping Tom, Cas,” Dean said breathlessly.

This comment led to a renewed bout of laughter between the brothers.

“I do not know what you mean. My name is not Tom; I am Castiel,” Castiel looked between the two brothers with a furrowed brow.

The brothers finally collected themselves enough to clear the bathroom doorway. Castiel followed them out into the main room. Steve could hear Dean recounting the tale to Loki, still bedridden. As he buttoned the shirt he heard Loki cackle delightedly.

“Mortals are very strange about their ‘privacy’,” Loki was explaining to Castiel as Steve stepped back into the room.

“Yes, I have also noticed this,” Castiel nodded in agreement.

Two zipped up duffle bags sat next to the door. Steve’s Captain America uniform was poking out of the plastic sack that had held their food. He wrinkled his nose as he thought about the smell that was going to leave. His shield sat waiting next to the plastic bag.

“I’ll go get her started,” Dean said patting his brother’s shoulder.

Sam and Steve stood on the sidewalk outside the motel room in the afternoon sunlight as Dean pulled up to the curb. In a practiced routine, Sam opened the trunk and dropped the bags and Cap’s shield in. They then returned to the hotel room where Castiel was watching Loki.

“How you want to do this?” Sam looked to Steve.

“I’ll take one side, you take the other?” Sam nodded and soon they were lugging a slightly less limp, but very perturbed Loki to the waiting Impala.

“This is going to be a tight fit,” Sam observed after Loki was situated.

“Somebody should sit between those two in the back,” Dean gestured with his thumb from the driver’s seat.

“Please not that ridiculously large lug,” Loki muttered.

Dean laughed sharply, “That’s you, Sammy.”

So, Steve found himself crammed in the car’s backseat with an angel and a god while the two demon hunters sat in the front arguing about the music. He wondered where this Bobby person lived and how long it was going to take to get there.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading!:)


End file.
